


i found in you what was lost in me

by CanaryWarrior, freckledpianoman, Missingmisery08, smallsmilliman97



Category: Stargirl (TV 2020)
Genre: Angst, Brainwashing, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, angsty brainwashing fic!!, but don't worry there will be fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:14:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25640404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CanaryWarrior/pseuds/CanaryWarrior, https://archiveofourown.org/users/freckledpianoman/pseuds/freckledpianoman, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Missingmisery08/pseuds/Missingmisery08, https://archiveofourown.org/users/smallsmilliman97/pseuds/smallsmilliman97
Summary: “Or what? We’re just gonna leave Rick down there to get killed?”~~rick gets brainwashed!
Relationships: Beth Chapel/Rick Tyler
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	i found in you what was lost in me

**Author's Note:**

> this fic was written by a bunch of beautiful people from the hournite discord and also me!

To say things were tense at Pat’s garage would be the understatement of the year. Beth sat on the couch with silent tears falling down her face. Courtney sat next to her, holding her hand, wiping her own tears. Yolanda was punching something, and Henry threw a bunch of tools against the wall in anger.

“Dammit!” The redhead shouted, putting his head in his hands. How could this have happened?

Pat walked to the middle of the room, a grim expression on his face. “Listen, guys, I know that we’re all angry and upset-”

“Damn right we are!” Yolanda exclaimed, angry tears brewing in her eyes. “The ISA has Rick! Who knows what they’re doing to him!” 

“Pat,” Courtney called out in a hoarse voice. “You have a plan, right? A plan to save him?”

Pat sighed, dragging his hand down his face before shaking his head. The brief moment of quiet while everyone waited for his answer was shattered by Beth’s sob. She turned toward Courtney and buried her head in the blonde’s shoulder. At the sound, Henry felt a lump form in the back of his throat. He tried to push down any feelings he had to remain strong. He walked over to Beth, sat down next to her, and put a hand on her shoulder. 

Yolanda groaned from across the room, “We need to stop wasting our time and come up with a plan, then.” Henry nodded, glancing at Beth in concern.

“Can’t we just go back into those tunnels and try to find him?” Henry questioned. “Hell, I’ll go right now!”

Pat looked hesitant. “That’s what they’ll expect you to do. Plus, none of us are ready to go back down there right now. They’ll defeat us quite easily in this state.”

“Well, it’s not like anyone else is presenting any other ideas, Pat.” Beth snapped, immediately shaking her head and turning to stare at the wall. “Sorry. I didn’t mean that.”

“No, it’s alright, we’re all on edge,” Pat tried to comfort her. “I know how much you all care about Rick, I do too, but we have to be smart about this. Even the smallest slip up could have devastating results for us and Rick.” 

“But the longer we wait…” Courtney trailed off. She couldn’t bring herself to even  _ think _ about what the ISA could do to Rick. 

“We just need to take some time and  _ think _ . Gather our emotions before we rush into this headfirst.” Pat sighed, watching Beth’s face twitch at his words. “We’re going to get him back.” He was careful not to add the words ‘I promise,’ because deep down he was terrified they wouldn’t be abl/e to.

“Then let’s plan. Where could they have taken him?” Yolanda’s face was the most controlled, just a small frown and furrowed brows. Despite that, of course, she was worried- Rick was like a brother to her, but someone needed to keep composed.

“The only place I could think of are the tunnels,” Beth said quietly. “Those tunnels extend all across the town...He could be anywhere. I don’t know if they would have another base of operations.”

Yolanda nodded. “If they have the entire tunnel network of Blue Valley at their disposal, would they even need another headquarters?”

Pat shook his head, “We can’t spend our time looking through the entire network- that’d take hours if we didn’t split up, and if we split up we risk losing more people. We need to find leads,  _ something _ to point us in the right direction.”

“Or what? We’re just gonna leave Rick down there to get killed?” Yolanda snapped, wincing when Beth’s breath shuddered. “Sorry, Beth. Seriously, though, waiting for a lead is gonna take longer than just searching the tunnels.”

“Okay, let’s think this through logically,” Henry began, trying to think with his brain instead of his heart. “What could they do with Rick? They could’ve tried to take any of us, but they chose Rick. Maybe they need him for something? I mean, a guy with super strength? That’s a good ability to have on a team.”

“Rick would never use his powers for them.” Beth shook her head, wiping her eyes. “That’s out of the question.”

“Maybe they just want information. They’ll just… interrogate him and give him back?” Courtney offered, wincing when Yolanda huffed.

“Rick wouldn’t just give up information, they’d have to really hurt him. He still probably wouldn’t. There has to be some reason they took him, though I hate to agree with Henry.” Yolanda sighed, catching a glare from Henry.

“Okay, so let’s think about this. They wouldn’t have risked taking him if they didn’t already have a solid, well-prepared plan,” Beth spoke up, wiping the remaining tears off her face. Her puffy, red eyes only added to everyone’s heartbreak as she leaned against Henry’s side.

Courtney nodded in agreement. “What could Icicle, Brainwave,” she glanced at Henry when she mentioned his father, “Dragon King, and the others do to Rick? What could their abilities and resources do to him?”

“Well, Icicle… freezes shit? I’m not even sure I understand what Dragon King does other than those creepy minion things,” Henry shrugged, “and my dad… does basically the same stuff I do, as far as I know.”

Yolanda continued. “Tigress and Sportsmaster kick ass, the Fiddler plays the violin, and the Gambler hacks and annoys Chuck.”

“If they wanted information, Brainwave could just read Rick’s mind and be done with it. They didn’t need to go through all that effort of taking him,” Pat explained. What the hell was the ISA up to?

“Then that just makes this worse.” Yolanda decided. “They took Rick and we have no clue why, they just did, and I hate to be the one to say it, but wouldn’t it be really convenient for them to just get rid of a member of the JSA and be done with it?” 

“It would be, but wouldn’t they also try to use a member of the JSA any way they can before getting rid of them?” Courtney pointed out.

“What do you mean by that, Court?” Pat looked at her with the same glint in his eye he always had when he was on to something.

“I don’t know,” Courtney shrugged helplessly. “But someone with Rick’s abilities could do a lot. It wouldn’t be smart to just get rid of someone who could do what he can. If they found a way to somehow  _ use _ his abilities…” She trailed off. 

“They couldn’t do that.” Beth spoke up. “The hourglass only works for him, right?” She specifically ignored how scared she sounded and instead focused on the facts- they had to get Rick back.

“Well, what if they… No.” Henry stopped as soon as he started, causing the others to look at him.

“What?” Courtney asked.

“What if they got in his head?

“What do you mean?” Yolanda questioned, her throat tightened.

“I mean, it’s probably dumb, but they got my dad all mind-screwed… What if they did that to Rick?” Henry suggested, immediately regretting it when Beth glared at him.

“Are you serious?” Beth demanded. “You think they have Rick under some mind control or did some  _ brainwashing _ ?”

“All I’m saying is we shouldn’t rule out the possibility!” He defended.

“Henry, you’re suggesting literal brainwashing.” Courtney laughed in disbelief, not wanting to consider the possibility.

“Like you all said, Rick would never do anything for them willingly. And we know that they have that weird mind machine that they hooked my dad up to. With an actual telepath, I think it’s a real possibility,” Henry explained, his stomach churning at the thought of Rick losing his free will.

“Well, what the hell are we supposed to do, then? Just wait for him to show up?” Beth snapped, pressing her nails into her palm. “Or what? Just… plan some way to take him down without hurting him?” Her voice softened at that, her anger being replaced with worry.

Yolanda turned to Henry. “If that did happen, can’t you reverse it with your powers? Would you be able to save him?”

Silence overtook the team as the red head searched for an answer. 

“I don’t know.” he answered finally, guilty he didn’t have more to offer.

Beth and Courtney looked like they were going to start crying again and Yolanda turned around so no one would see the tears in her eyes. 

“Listen, Rick is strong. If the ISA somehow managed to mind control him, he will probably find a way to overcome it. He’s tough, we all know that. Henry could always try to use his abilities to help him, too. We’ve never been in a situation like this before, so we won’t know what we’re all capable of until we are actually experiencing it in that moment,” Pat said to the four teenagers, trying to make them feel better. 

“We don’t know what’s happening with Rick right now. Imagining the worst isn't helping any of us. And it sure as hell isn’t helping Rick.” A frustrated Beth stated as she dried the remaining tears on her face. 

“Technically, that’s not the worst thing that could be happening to Rick,” Henry pointed out quietly, fearful of Beth’s and Yolanda’s grief-filled wrath. “It’s the most plausible.”

“So what do we do?” Courtney asked the obvious question.

“For now, we research,” Pat began. “We can’t help Rick unless we cover our bases. It’s dangerous to dive in head first without a clue on what’s going on. Get some rest, we’ll regroup tomorrow and start planning our next move.”

“And leave Rick for even longer than we have to?” Beth snapped.

“If we don’t at least try to figure out what’s going on, we could Rick a lot more harm than good.” the older man pointed out.

The four teenagers nodded. They weren’t happy, but Pat was right.

“Do you guys want to spend the night?” Courtney asked.

Yolanda nodded. “I’ll have to leave super early to sneak through my window, though.” 

Courtney turned to Beth and Henry, who shook their heads. “No, thanks, Courtney. I wanna go home. If there’s the slightest chance that he escaped, he might come to our place,” Beth said, with Henry nodding in agreement. The redhead had moved in with Beth after his father tried to kill him. Her parents hadn’t noticed at all.

“Okay, stay safe you two,” Pat said, watching as Beth hugged Courtney and Yolanda goodbye. Henry hugged Courtney and placed a gentle hand on Yolanda’s shoulder before walking out of the garage with an arm around Beth.

As soon as the duo arrived at the Chapel residence, Beth ran to her room and locked herself inside. Henry sighed, knowing that she needed some time alone to deal with everything that has been going on. He went to his room, showered, and put on some comfortable sweats. Once he was ready, he walked out of his room and knocked on Beth’s door.

“Beth?” Henry called out. “Can you open the door? Please?” He heard some shuffling before the door opened, revealing Beth in a t- shirt and pajama pants. Her eyes were puffy and Henry could see tear stains on her cheek. “Oh, Beth…”

Beth walked back to her bed and sat on it, with her head in her hands. Henry immediately sat next to her and pulled the crying brunette into his arms. When he heard his best friend sob, it felt like someone stabbed him in the heart and turned the knife. He wished he could take her pain away, take Yolanda’s and Courtney’s pain away, that he could save Rick. The telepath felt tears well up in his eyes at the thought of his friend and teammate. Rick had been the only person who understood what it was like to lose both parents, and he helped Henry move on. 

After a few minutes of crying, Beth asked, “What if we can’t save him?” with her head still buried in Henry’s chest.

Henry shook his head. “Don’t think about that. There’s still a chance, and as long as there’s a chance, we will never give up.” He felt Beth nod against his chest.

“Yeah, you’re right. Rick’s strong and good, he’ll fight like hell.”

_ He’ll fight for you _ , Henry thought, thinking about how much Rick cared about Beth. It was obvious he was completely in love with her. He only hoped that Rick truly was strong enough to survive whatever the ISA is doing to him.

While lost in their thoughts and sobbing, Beth and Henry eventually drifted off in a grief-induced sleep in Beth’s bed. 

…

  
  


The next day was beyond difficult for the team. Courtney and Yolanda couldn't stop worrying about their missing friend and it showed. The dark bags under their eyes from their night filled with more tears than sleep. Henry wasn’t much better, constantly beating himself up about not being strong enough to save Rick.

Beth had it the worst. Her eyes were red from all the crying she had done just that morning and throughout the day when no one was looking. Every time she walked through the halls or into class, a part of her expected to see Rick walking the same route. 

As the day went on and lunch came around, the teens finally had time all together to finally begin making their plan. 

Sitting down at their table, the group was tense. Everyone couldn't help themselves from glancing at the empty seat beside them. 

“Okay,” Henry broke the tense silence. “Is there any way we can figure out where the ISA will be tonight? Just one member?”

“Can you use Chuck to see if Gambler is hacking into any systems or companies, Beth?” Yolanda asked, recalling the time Chuck caught his nemesis hacking into a communications company.

Beth shrugged. “I can try, but would Gambler really risk exposing himself like that?”

Courtney spoke up. “We have to try anything at this point.”

Beth looked around and pulled her goggles out of her bag. “Cover me.” She turned away from most of the students in the cafeteria and placed the goggles over her puffy, red eyes. “Chuck, is there any word on Rick, Gambler, or any of the ISA?” 

The AI almost sounded sad. “I’m sorry, Beth, there are no alerts regarding them.”

Beth sighed sadly and slid the goggles off. She put them back in her bag and put her glasses back on. “There’s nothing,” she relayed to her friends. Her shoulders slumped and the small sliver of hope she had was crushed. 

“I’m sorry, Beth.” Yolanda hung her head. 

“There’s nothing to be sorry for. We’re not going to stop until we find Rick and bring him back.” Beth stated assertively earning a nod from the teens around her.

“Beth’s right, we’re not giving up.” Courtney agreed. “Once school is over, Pat wants us to meet at the garage.” the blonde informed.

“Does he have a plan?” Henry inquired, hoping the answer was yes.

“I don’t know, he didn’t mention anything about having a plan. He probably doesn’t want to distract us while we’re here at school,” Courtney explained.

“Really? I haven’t been able to focus on anything besides Rick,” Yolanda admitted, slumping her shoulders.

“We just have to get through the rest of the day,” Courtney tried to convince her friends.

In a sad tone, Beth noted, “We got this far, we just have a few more hours to get through.” Henry put an arm around her comfortingly while everyone nodded. 

They had to stay strong, if not for themselves, then for Rick.

…

As soon as the final bell rang, the four superheroes ran to Henry’s car, who promptly drove them straight to Pat’s garage in record time.

“Pat!” Courtney called out to her step-father as she and her friends ran inside. “Do you have any news?”

Pat had a disappointed glint in his eyes. “No, I don’t.” The four teenagers immediately looked downcasted. “I was thinking we all do research about the tunnels under the town, see if there are any good spots the ISA might take advantage of.”

The superheroes nodded numbly and got to work. About two hours later, Beth sat on the couch with her goggles on, pouring over books. She looked at a detailed drawing in one of the older books and turned to her right, pointing at the picture. However, she was showing it to an empty space. She felt a sharp pang in her heart. She and Rick always did research together on this couch. Whenever Beth found something interesting, she showed it to Rick, who would in turn listen to her talk about it with genuine interest. He would always give her his undivided attention which always made her heart flutter.

But Rick wasn’t here. 

Beth sighed and blinked back the tears that formed in her eyes. How could she focus when Rick was gone? When he was experiencing who knows how much pain?

“Beth,” Chuck’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “There seems to be some activity near a warehouse,” Chuck put up the location, “it looks like the ISA, based on security camera footage.”

Beth’s heart nearly jumped out of her chest. “Guys! Chuck detected some ISA activity at a warehouse!”

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Henry urged.

“Guys, we need a plan first,” Pat reasoned. 

Courtney suggested, “Kick ass, save Rick.”

“I’m with Courtney.” Beth decided. “We can plan on our way over there, we’ve wasted enough time already.”

The four teenagers suited up and walked out of the garage, more determined than ever.

…

Courtney, Beth, Yolanda, and Henry walked cautiously up to the warehouse.

“I don’t see anyone,” Yolanda observed, looking around almost wildly.

“Maybe they’re inside?” Courtney suggested. “Do you hear any minds, Henry?”

Henry concentrated on locating other minds aside from his friends’. “Yeah, I can feel more people, but I can’t see them.”

Suddenly, Beth heard footsteps and became more alerted. “Guys, do you hear that?” The four of them turned to the source of the sound, to see a flowing yellow cape and a tall figure. They all gasped.

“Rick?” Beth asked breathlessly. She took a few steps towards him before Henry gently grabbed her arm. The telepath shook his head to warn her not to walk to her other best friend as it could be a trap.

“Rick?” Yolanda said hopefully, thankfully staying in the same spot.

“Are you okay? What happened?” Courtney asked, concerned.

Before anyone could say anything else, Icicle, Tigress, and a couple of Dragon King’s goons arrived behind Rick. Icicle and Tigress stood on either side of him.

Beth gasped. “No...Please, no....”

Icicle, in all his icy glory, turned to Rick. “What are you waiting for, Hourman? Turn your little hourglass and attack them!”

Against his will, Rick picked up the hourglass hanging around his neck and flipped it upside down. His usual golden glow appeared, powering his strength.

“Oh, God,” Yolanda whispered, terrified. “Henry was right...What do we do?”

Courtney gulped. “We have to fight.”

“Against Rick?” Beth questioned, heart racing. She couldn’t fight Rick, she just couldn’t!

Henry sighed helplessly. “If we have to.” He mentally vowed that if it came to it, he would fight Rick himself so the girls wouldn’t have to. 

“Looks like that’s gonna happen sooner than expected,” Yolanda noted, as the ISA plus Rick began running towards them. 

Courtney immediately flew towards Icicle with her staff, blasting a few of Dragon King’s minions. She attempted to blast Jordan, but was forced to dodge his ice blasts while flying. 

Yolanda, who had some unfinished business with Tigress, ran towards her. She ducked as the other woman threw a punch at her and punched the villainess’s stomach. Tigress quickly recovered and kicked Yolanda. The two went back and forth with their violent attacks.

Meanwhile, Beth focused on Dragon King’s goons. With her training, she was a rather decent fighter. She threw punches and kicks at the hooded opponents while dodging their attacks. Courtney had blasted a few of them, which helped greatly. As she dropped to the ground to kick the legs of a goon, her mind wandered to Rick. She shook those thoughts out of her head, she had to focus.

Henry made sure he was the one who approached Rick. “Listen, Hourman,” he started, using Rick’s superhero name, “I know you’re in there. You’re tougher than this, I know you are! I know you don’t want to hurt me.” 

Rick stared at Henry with an undecipherable look in his eyes before picking up a crate and throwing it at the redhead. Henry, surprised at the violent attack, barely had time to stop the crate from hitting him. Okay, this was bad. Rick really was brainwashed or under some kind of mind control. Henry really had to keep him away from the girls.

That plan failed quickly as Dragon King’s minions came toward Henry. “Dammit,” he cursed as he threw them.

Beth, who finished beating the minions who came after her, was currently helping Yolanda fight against Tigress. Courtney managed to fire a blast at Icicle from her staff, sighing in relief as he went down. Tigress kicked Beth and led Yolanda away during their fight. Courtney ran towards Tigress after helping Beth up, while Beth ran to help Henry battle Dragon King’s minions. 

In the midst of fighting, something caught Yolanda’s eye. “Look out!” She screamed at Beth and Henry.

Icicle seemingly recovered from Courtney’s attack and was now standing up, creating a giant ice block. With one powerful blast, he sent it in Dr. Midnite’s direction.

“No!” Henry shouted, getting ready to stop the ice from hitting his best friend.

Beth’s eyes widened as she saw the incoming attack. Before she could move, the ice block suddenly stopped a few feet in front of her. At first, she thought Henry stopped it, but when she looked closer, she realized it was Rick. Rick was there, holding the freezing ice block up with his hands. He looked at her, a mixture of fear, worry, and something else in his eyes, and said “ _ Run. _ ”

Beth did just that, and ran towards Henry’s side. Henry gently held Beth’s hand and took the opportunity to read Rick’s mind. He felt a pain in his head as he tried to navigate the giant, jumbled mess that was now Rick’s mind. Everything was completely screwed up, but Henry could hear one clear, coherent thought from Rick:  _ Thank god Beth is okay. _

Henry snapped out of it when he heard Icicle screaming in anger.

“Dammit! Hourman!”

The clouded over look in Rick’s eyes returned and Beth could feel tears sting at the back of her eyes at the loss. Rick made no move to hurt her but ran back to the lead villain and fell in line.

Yolanda was still fighting Tigress but at Icicle’s command the older woman retreated.

The JSA watched in rage and horror as their enemies took off, stringing along their brainwashed teammate behind them. 

Beth dropped to her knees and cut the palms of her hands on the small shards of ice scattered on the floor after Rick let the block drop. She didn’t even register the pain, too overcome by the grief of losing Rick a second time. 

“We have to go,” Henry told the girl, but she was too busy staring at the spot where Rick had been standing. “Beth, we have to go. We will get Rick back. Okay I promise, but you need to get medical attention.” he gazed down to Beth’s bloodied hands.

With still no response from the girl, he motioned for Yolanda and Courtney. The two other girls gently helped a for once silent Beth up from the floor as Henry got his car.

The team drove off, leaving the warehouse, and their first look at a brainwashed Rick, behind.

…

  
  


Back at Pat’s garage, Yolanda was helping Pat clean Beth’s wounds from the ice shards. There were mostly only cuts, but he had to remove a few unmelted ice shards from her skin. Beth didn’t even notice the pain as Pat used tweezers to pick up the shards embedded in her skin. She felt numb after seeing Rick. The ISA really did get to his mind. They made him fight his friends. Well, except her, he  _ saved _ her. That means Rick is in there somewhere, right?

“I can’t believe they did that to Rick,” Courtney said in shock.

“Listen, guys,” Henry began, rubbing his head. “I looked into his mind and it was so messed up. Everything was jumbled, nothing was clear. Well, except for…”

Pat perked up. “Except for what?”

Henry gestured for the group to move out of Beth’s hearing range. Pat gently pat her on the shoulder before getting up and moving toward Henry. “There was only one clear thought in his head.”

“Which was?” Yolanda asked impatiently.

“ _ Thank god Beth is safe _ ,” Henry repeated. “His mind was so screwed up that I got a headache that still didn’t go away,” he rubbed his head for emphasis, “but Beth was the only clear thought in his head. I think she could get through to him. Beth is the key to saving Rick.”

The rest of the team were surprised, but at the same time, they weren’t. Anyone could see that Rick was hopelessly in love with Beth.

“So why aren’t we telling Beth this?” Yolanda asked.

Henry sighed. “Because we all know she would try to seek him out to try to save him. Right now, she needs rest, we all do.” He thought back to the fight, where Beth almost died. Henry almost lost her, and he couldn’t go through that again. He doesn’t know what he would do if he ever lost her. So, if it means keeping Beth in the dark about Rick’s thoughts for a while, so be it.

The rest of the team nodded. Courtney walked over to Beth and sat next to her.

“So what do we do now?” Yolanda asked, despair evident in her voice. 

“Do you think they’ll hurt him? Or try messing with his mind again?” Beth spoke up, worried. “We all saw him break free for a few moments. What if they try to… reprogram his brain again or something?” 

The room went silent. Beth was right, there was a chance that the ISA would try to warp Rick’s mind again...Try to hurt him again.

“Well, it looked like they got control of him pretty quickly after he snapped out of it. It seemed strong to me. Maybe they won’t do anything to him tonight,” Yolanda said softly. Everyone considered her words.

Pat sighed. It was hard to think clearly when Rick was under some type of mind control. “We’re all exhausted. For now, let’s recuperate and meet here tomorrow. At least now we know what happened to Rick. He’s alive, guys, and we’ll save him.”

...

The four remaining JSA members went to school in a daze, still reeling from the previous night. They didn’t focus on anything, their thoughts once again filled with Rick. 

They arrived at Pat’s garage after school, desperate for some news or even a plan.

“Any updates?” Courtney inquired.

Pat shook his head. “I’m sorry, everyone.” At the team’s dejected reactions, he continued. “But we have to come up with a plan for the next time we face them and Rick.”

“We can’t fight Rick, Pat, we just can’t,” Yolanda expressed. “Well, except Henry, anyway.”

“I just didn’t want the three of you to be in that position,” Henry confessed, earning a small, grateful smile from the trio of girls. “Besides, Rick didn’t have a problem with fighting me.”

“But he does have a problem with fighting me,” Beth spoke up. “He snapped out of his mind control to save me. He even told me to run. Maybe I can use myself as bait to get through to him and Henry can try going into his mind again!”

Courtney, Yolanda, Henry, and Pat stared at Beth, dumbfounded. The four of them agreed to not tell Beth that Rick’s only coherent thought was of her, but it seems like she figured out the gist of it on her own after spending the night recuperating. 

“Why are you all looking at me like that?” Beth asked, confused.

Courtney and Yolanda both looked at Henry, whose eyes were wide.

“Okay, so I didn’t want to tell you this last night because I know how close you are to Rick and because you were hurt. But,” Henry took a deep breath, “I read his mind. It was a mess and it was bad. He had only one clear, coherent thought.”

“What was it?” Beth asked softly.

“ _ Thank god Beth is okay _ .”

Beth let out a slight gasp. Maybe Rick did return her feelings? She pushed those thoughts away. Now was not the time to dwell on her non-existent love life. “Oh… Well, since he can’t bring himself to hurt me for some reason, that’s our only advantage.”

Pat was hesitant about putting Beth in even more danger. “Beth, are you sure?”

“Yes, I am. We have to save Rick,” Beth responded, determined.

“I’m with Beth,” Yolanda supported, “We’re gonna need a more specific plan, though.”

“That’s gonna be hard to come up with since we don’t know where the ISA will strike next,” Courtney pointed out.

“We know that if Beth is in life-threatening danger, chances are that Rick will regain control of himself, just for a little bit. When that happens, we need to get him away from the rest of the ISA,” Yolanda explained.

Henry nodded. “That sounds like the best plan we got. But how exactly is Beth going to put herself in danger?” 

Beth shrugged. “We can just improvise that part. If I see a chance, I’ll take it.”

Henry nodded, with his protective feelings bubbling to the surface. “And I’m going to be by your side in case something goes wrong, okay?”

Beth, knowing that Henry wouldn’t change his mind, agreed. “Okay.”

...

A couple of hours later, Chuck alerted Beth about ISA activity at Jordan’s office. The JSA suited up and went there.

“Where are they?” Courtney wondered, after they searched the building.

“There’s one place we haven’t looked,” Beth said.

“The roof!” Yolanda exclaimed. “Come on, let’s go!”

The four of them found the staircase that led to the roof. The door that led outside was locked, so Henry used his abilities to open it. The four of them walked out as quietly as possible. They stopped short when they heard voices.

Henry held up a hand to stop them, listening through the door. 

“Is that them?” Beth whispered. Henry didn’t turn his head to look at her, just nodded shortly, keeping his hand up to hold the group back.

“What are they even doing?” Yolanda prodded, peeking through the crack in the door to watch them. Henry didn’t bother pushing her back, knowing she’d just take it out on him later.

“Setting up the machine-thingy I think.” Henry whispered, watching as Dr. Ito ordered around his minions on the roof. “We could take them by surprise.”

“We need to stick to the plan.” Beth shook her head.

“We don’t even really  _ have  _ a plan.” Henry shot back, earning a glare from Beth.

“Well, we have to do something!” Courtney exclaimed.

“Well, should we just go for it, then?” Yolanda questioned.

Beth thought for a moment. “Maybe we should? Court do you think you can blast that creepy machine?”

At Courtney's nod, Henry warned, “As soon as she blasts that thing, they’re gonna know we’re here. Are we ready?”

“Yeah,” everyone chorused.

Courtney stepped out a bit more so she can get a better aim. Luckily, she had a clear shot and she took it, watching as a bright, golden light escaped her staff and flew toward the machine.

The machine groaned for a split second before releasing a shower of sparks and buzzing. Courtney rushed through the door, staff aimed at the first ISA member she spotted, which happened to be Brainwave. Thankfully, he was unprepared for the surprise attack and fell to the ground, unconscious. 

Beth, Yolanda, and Henry soon followed and immediately started to fight Dr. Ito’s masked goons while dodging Icicle’s ice blasts. Courtney turned her attention to Icicle, distracting him so her friends can take out the hooded lackeys. The JSA eventually got separated from each other as they fought. 

After a few minutes of fighting, Icicle noticed that most of Dragon King’s backup was down. “Dammit! Hourman! Get out here now!”

Beth turned immediately, only to find Rick emerging from the shadows. Though she couldn’t see his expression behind his mask, Beth noted the far away look in his eyes as he ambled out.

Icicle glanced between Hourman and Dr. Midnite, a realization dawning on him. “You,” he said walking towards Beth. “You’re the reason our mind control stopped working last time. Why is that? What is it about you that can counteract even the strongest control?”

Beth shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe you guys just did a bad job of brainwashing him?” Icicle scoffed and took a step towards her, prompting her to shuffle backwards quickly.

“No,” he tutted, taking another step. “There has to be an actual reason. I know that the previous Dr. Midnite was capable of great things, before he died. What are you capable of? How did you make Hourman snap out of it?”

“Like I said, I don’t know, and that really doesn’t seem like my problem. Isn’t it your job to figure it out, anyways?” She taunted, trailing further backwards. “Maybe you should’ve considered that before using him to build your machine.”

“You know what?” Icicle turned to Rick. “Hourman, kill her, now.”

“NO!” Henry shouted from somewhere on the roof, desperately trying to get through Dr. Ito’s goons to get to Beth.

Rick ambled forward immediately, squaring his shoulders and staring Beth down. She let out a breath, looking behind her to see the edge of the roof inching closer with every step she took.

“Listen, Hourman, I know you don’t want to do this,” Beth started as she continued backing up as Icicle took a few steps closer. “I know- woah!” Beth stumbled on the ledge. She quickly tried to find her balance, and thankfully, she did.

She took a steadying breath, sticking her chin up. “I know you’re still in there, Hourman. You did it before, now do it again. You’re stronger than this.”

Rick had a conflicted look in his eyes, as if he were fighting with himself. Technically, he was. He grabbed his head and grunted in pain. After a few seconds later, he looked back up, a clearer look in his eyes.

“Beth?” he whispered quietly.

Beth’s heart jumped for a second- it was him. Like, actually him. Her stomach twisted suddenly when she heard Icicle groan. “Enough of this!” 

Before Beth could register what was going on, she felt herself being hit with something cold and toppled off the building. 

“No!” Henry and Rick both shouted as Courtney angrily shot Icicle from behind with her staff. Henry concentrated on Beth’s falling form and focused his telekinesis on her. He managed to slow her fall, he felt it, but was it too late?

Courtney, Yolanda, Rick, and Henry quickly made their way to the ground, where they saw Beth lying there. Rick rushed over to her and cradled her body.

“Beth? Beth, please be okay,” Rick choked out. Beth barely picked up her head, groaning softly. Rick’s hands shook as he grappled to take her hand.

Beth’s eyes fluttered, gazing up at him with glassy eyes. “Rick?”

“Yeah, it’s me, Beth. I’m so sorry. I love you, Beth. So much,” Rick confessed in a shaky voice.

“I-” Beth lost the strength to keep her eyes open and they fluttered shut. Rick felt her body go limp in his arms.

“No, no, no no no,” Rick repeated, eyes tearing up. “Beth, open your eyes. Open your eyes please! Please don’t do this, don’t leave me, I love you…” Rick let out a strangled sob and clutched Beth’s body closer to him. “Please wake up…”

He heard the others rushing behind him to call for Pat, or an ambulance, or both. Beth’s head lolled back in the crook of his elbow, body shuddering. He tried gasping for air as he looked down at her- she’d never seemed so small to him before.

Henry knelt next to them, grabbing Beth’s other hand gently. He crouched in silence for a second, staring at her before looking back up at Rick. “She’s… she’s alive.”

**Author's Note:**

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